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A Word with You - Oct. 31, 2012

A long time ago my friend, Art, got stopped for speeding, although he was a little baffled when the police officer didn't get out of his car for a couple of moments. So, he thought, "Well, I'll be obliging." Art got out of his car. Oh boy! Immediately he heard the policeman yelling at him, "Get in that car and stay there, and don't move!" as the policeman reached for his gun. Poor Art! I mean, the poor guy was only doing 37 in the 30. That's not really that bad an offense most of the time.

Well, the policeman finally came up to his window. And as Art reached in his back pocket for his license, the policeman said, "Freeze where you are! Eyes straight ahead! Put your hands on the steering wheel! Don't move!" Well, of course, Art's first reaction was, "Am I going to die?" And then his second reaction was, "What is this guy's problem?" Well, if you'd stopped right there you'd have said, "Boy, this officer's really got an attitude, man. What's going on here?"

Well, you see, the officer went on to explain why he was so jumpy that day. He had just had a friend, a fellow officer, gunned down by a man that had been stopped for a minor traffic violation. All of a sudden, it's kind of understandable, isn't it? You see, when someone is over-reacting or just acting strangely, there's usually more to it than meets the eye.

eed behind the deed." Then your response is love and compassion, instead of giving an eye for an eye or returning evil for evil.

Think about that person you care about, or that person who's hard to care about. You can focus on what they're putting you through, or what they're going through. And if you'll get the rest of the story, you'll be just like Jesus.